New Isn't Always Better
by me122334
Summary: Juliet thinks she is ready to have a fresh start in San Francisco, but between a difficult partner, tough cases in an unfamiliar place, and the ache of missing everyone back home, she starts to wonder if new is always better.
1. A New Partner

I'm ready. I really am. I'm wearing a brand new pantsuit, I got twelve hours of sleep last night, and at the rate I'm driving, I'm going to be fashionably early. What more could a new head detective need on her first day?

"A bed that isn't empty on one side," a part of me nags.

It's true, I did wake up several times last night, roll over expecting Shawn to be right there, only to find the bed empty. And maybe, because I've always felt most vulnerable at night, a few tears were shed in loneliness. But that doesn't matter; it's morning now and I'm ready.

I feel a lot less ready a few minutes later when I meet my new partner. Junior partner. The title sounds oddly different when it belongs to someone else. This someone else is tall and handsome: with sandy blonde hair like mine, and large biceps. He is the type of man that would have made my knees go weak a few years ago, before I grew up a bit. But that's not the problem. The problem is the way he's looking at me, like he's sizing me up to see how good I would be in a fight. I've seen this expression before: it's the one everyone always wears when they are doubting my ability to be a cop.

We exchange names with a handshake. While I know it's silly, I try and make my grip especially firm, hoping that it will somehow help convince my new partner that I am worthy of my title.

"It's great to meet you Michael." I repeat his name back to him.

"It's Detective Baren," he responds, curling his lip ever so slightly. Clearly he prefers last names.

"Right, sorry." I immediately regret apologizing. I'm head detective now, not the little girl I was eight years ago when I first transferred to Santa Barbara, and I should be acting like it!

I push the thought out of my head as Karen calls us into her office. She flashes a small encouraging smile at me, but quickly enough so that no one else notices, and it doesn't threaten her professional demeanor. Once in her office she explains the case she is giving us. A body was found dead at the San Francisco Giant's stadium, in the slide shaped like a giant Coke bottle. The only thing I can think of is that Shawn would love that slide. I blink that thought away. I can't afford to be missing Shawn right now, so I continue to focus on what Karen is saying. The man was there because the pharmaceutical company he worked for often hosts dinner parties at games, as a way to win over potential customers. It could be an accident, but the chief wants it thoroughly investigated before we shut the book.

As we leave Karen's office, Baren immediately grabs his keys and starts heading for the door.

"Come on," he says gruffly. "We're going to that pharmaceutical company."

I'm so used to following Carlton's every move without much question, that I almost forget to correct him.

"Actually, we should go to the scene of the crime first to see what we can scope out, then follow whatever lead we find there."

Baren scowls deeply. "Are you correcting me?"

"Yes," I reply, getting a little fed up with this. "I am the senior officer, remember?"

He scoffs. "Fine, let's go to your precious little crime scene, Princess."


	2. A New Crime Scene

Walking through AT&T Park, I can't help but think that under different circumstances, I really would enjoy being here. The stadium is right on the bay, with an amazing view of all the sailboats passing by. I also notice the mini baseball diamond for toddlers, complete with a small jumbo screen. Maybe, a couple years down the road, my own children will be playing here.

I stop daydreaming as I climb the stairs to the top of the slide, ready to be in work mode. As I look down the metal tube, Baren shines his flashlight up at me from his position at the bottom of the slide. The body is in about the middle, with the head facing downward, arms out almost in a superman stance.

"No sign of any injuries," Baren observes. "I'll bet he had a heart attack while over exerting himself on this stupid thing."

I knit my eyebrows a bit, taking in my surroundings. There is a sign that reads in big red letters, "ONLY CHILDREN 14 OR UNDER". This means that this thirty something year old man probably wasn't just riding the slide of his own free will; someone most likely stuffed his body there after killing him. Plus, the stanchions marking out a pathway for a neat and orderly line indicate that there were probably kids here throughout the day. Someone would have found him earlier than the janitor did while cleaning up if he had been here while the game was still going on.

Instead of voicing these observations to Baren directly, I figure it might be safer to just let him hear me say them to the officer taking notes next to me. He still doesn't take kindly to being contradicted.

"So?" He snarls in response to my observations. "The idiot probably snuck in after the game to get in his kicks and croaked."

I take another look at the body. Any man who wears a two hundred dollar suit to a baseball game doesn't exactly strike me as someone who would pull off silly hijinks. I tell this to Baren, but he just scoffs.

"Well, we'll just see what the coroner has to say, won't we?"

He's right about one thing: there isn't much left we can do until we get the coroner's report. Since it is already well past noon, I decide to take my lunch break. Only a ten minute walk away from AT&T Park is The Ferry Building, and having heard so much about it, I make a decision to eat there.

The walk there is beautiful, being right on the water. As much as I like the cool ocean breeze (or is it a bay breeze?), I can't help but miss the similar experience of walking on the boardwalk in Santa Barbara. But I shouldn't be thinking about Santa Barbara right now; it will just make me sad. I'm here now, and I need to focus on that.

After exploring restaurant after restaurant in The Ferry Building, I finally decide on Chinese. There are no tables that I see near me, but I spotted some outside earlier, so I decide to head to those. I am just settling down with my food when I see a familiar group of people heading towards me. It's Baren and some of his officer friends. At first I think they are coming to sit with me, and my stomach turns just a bit, but after a moment I realize they don't see me, and are going to sit down at a table a few feet away. There is a large tree between us, so I can no longer see them, but I can most definitely hear them. I'm not normally an eavesdropper, but after a minute or so they start to talk about me, and I just have to listen.

"So," a voice I don't recognize says, "How's that chick doing on her first day?"

I hear Baren scoff, something he seems to do a lot. "Awful. She's a total bitch, always telling me what to do. Like I need her to boss me around."

I feel like I've been punched in the gut. I mean, I know Michael dislikes me, but hearing him say that out loud still feels terrible. Normally I would have gotten up by this point to set them straight, but for some reason my legs won't move, so I just sit and listen.

"I dunno dude," a third voice says, "She's pretty hot. Nice ass."

Under different circumstances, I would have taken this as a complement, but the way this guy says it just makes me tense up uncomfortably. It's as if he's saying my figure has something to do with my worth as a detective.

"Look," Michael says as if the other man hadn't spoken, "We all know she's only head detective because the chief and her are friends. Any of us could have gotten that job, but she brought in her own incompetent bitch instead. It's ridiculous."

I stand up abruptly. I'm done listening to this. For a moment I'm sure I am going to go over there to give them a piece of my mind. Back in Santa Barbara I wouldn't have hesitated. But this isn't Santa Barbara, it's a new city, and that's throwing me off. So I don't go over there. I just walk away, tears that I refuse to let fall stinging my eyes.


	3. A New Phone Call

"Jules!" Shawn's voice calls out to me over the phone, "Everything okay? I've been calling you all day!"

It's true, I have been avoiding picking up the phone all day, mostly because I know I will have to explain why I left without saying goodbye. I also know that hearing Shawn would probably induce some tears that wouldn't make my new partner think any better of me. I was right: I am starting to cry a little. Something about this bit of familiarity I've missed so much through a day of unfamiliarity is making me emotional. I try to think of something to say, but all I manage is:

"Hi Shawn."

I work so hard to not betray the tears in my voice, but he hears them anyway.

"Jules, are you crying? What happened?"

"I-" For a moment I think about just saying that I'm fine, but I doubt Shawn would buy that. He is practically psychic, after all. "I've had a terrible first day, Shawn."

So I explain everything that has happened in the last twenty four hours, starting with meeting Baren, and everything going downhill from there. By the end of my rant, the tears running down my face have slowed, and I feel much better.

Shawn is silent for a while before speaking.

"Well, first of all, I think this Mike guy sounds awful. Plus, he has terrible hair."

Even when he's many of miles away, Shawn can make me laugh.

"How do you know what his hair looks like? Did you get a "vision"?"

"No," I can hear Shawn suppressing a laugh at my mocking. "Everyone knows that hair naturally reflects personality. That's why your hair is made of beautiful golden sunbeams."

I blush, not even trying to help it.

"You know, Baren's hair is about the same color as mine," I point out.

"Then he is a betrayer to the clan of beautiful blondes. He gives you a bad name."

I giggle again.

"Seriously though, Jules, don't let this guy get you down." His tone has changed from the light joking he was using before. "You're the most awesome, magically delicious detective there is out there, and you just have to prove it to him."

I ignore the fact that he just called me a sugary cereal and just sighed. "And how am I supposed to that, Shawn? It's been one day and he already thinks I'm an incompetent little girl."

"Well, that's easy," Shawn scoffs as if it's obvious, "solve the case."

"Solve the case?" Suddenly I wonder if my boyfriend is really being as attentive as I think he is. "Did you hear a word I said? The coroner agrees that it's a heart attack. The case is over."

"Is it though Jules? There's no other reason he could have had a heart attack besides overexertion?"

"Well, he could have been drugged, but…" I'm about to say that it's a pretty far fetched idea before a thought hits me. "He worked at a pharmaceutical company!"

"Exactamundo, m'lady."

We are both thinking the same thing. Anyone at that company could have intentionally drugged the victim, and would have known to give him something that we don't usually test for.

After discussing this idea for a little longer, I yawn widely.

"You tired, Sweetheart?"

"No, I'm fine," I say, lying. I really am very sleepy, but don't want to stop hearing his voice quite yet.

"Go to bed, Jules," Shawn insists. "You've got to rest up for your Baren-crushing tomorrow."

I chuckle. "Alright, fine."

"I love you." He doesn't say these specific words very often, so the fact that he is now makes the moment all the more special.

"I love you too, Shawn."

I go to bed crying and smiling at the same time.


End file.
